It is no secret . . . my mother makes the best baking powder biscuits in the world! There is no denying it.
Light, flakey and oh so scrummy . . . with soups, with stews, and on their own . . .
Served up warm with butter and honey . . . or some preserves . . . my . . . my . . . my. You just can't beat them!
There's no surprises here. They're really quite simple, nothing too out of the ordinary, but there are a few tricks to the success of them.
First, light handling. Don't be rough with them. A light touch is the secret behind the flakiness . . . too much handiwork and you get a tough biscuit.
If you want straight sided, tall biscuits . . . pat them out fairly thick, 1/2 inch will do and then cut them with a sharp tap down with the biscuit cutter . . . carefully lift the cutter straight up again. Don't twist, or you'll get lopsided.
Oh they'll still taste delicious, but aesthetically speaking . . . straight sided look oh so much better.
Yep . . . my mom does make the best baking powder biscuits in the world . . . and now you can too!
*Mom's Baking Powder Biscuits*
Makes about 36
Printable Recipe
My mom makes the best baking powder biscuits in the world. Now you can too.
17 ounces plain flour (4 cups)
8 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 TBS granulated sugar
8 ounces white shortening (1 cup)
2 large free range eggs
12 fluid ounces milk (1 1/2 cups)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. You will need several large baking sheets. No need to grease them.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Drop in the shortening and cut it in with two round bladed knives or a pastry blender until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat together the milk and eggs until well combined. Add to the dry mixture and stir with a fork until you have a soft dough. You may not need all the liquid. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead a few times. Pat out to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut out with a sharp 2 inch round cutter, giving the cutter a sharp tap straight down and up without twisting. (Twisting will give you lop sided biscuits.) Place onto the baking sheets, leaving some space in between the biscuits for crispy all around biscuits, or close together for soft sided biscuits.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until well risen and browned. Serve warm. Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and reheated in the microwave for a few seconds. These also freeze really well.
They look grand:)
ReplyDeleteMy mother also made these when I was growing up, I thought they were scones. If she added a little more sugar, they became her version of shortcake for strawberries or stewed rhubarb.
ReplyDeleteThanks Monique! They are grand for sure. Simple and wonderful.
ReplyDeleteColleen, scones and biscuits are quite different. Scones usually use all butter and have a shorter texture. But whatever you call them, they're delicious and never more so than when topped with sweetened crushed berries and some softly whipped cream.
They look beautiful. I love the way the butter is just melting in to them - really makes me want to eat one!
ReplyDeleteI do hope that you will try them for yourself! xx
ReplyDeleteYum! I feel a scone and strawberry jam afternoon tea will be made tomorrow. I haven't had them in ages.
ReplyDeleteCan I ask you what "white shortening" is? My gran always used lard in her scones (and they turned out so light and fluffy).
these are the biscuits my mum made and i make, I could eat them everyday and o make them at least twice a week, I would rather eat these than bread! I eat them with butter and jam, with egg and bacon, with cheese, in stew or soup, yup, I am a biscuit houndd, Iw ill try these for sure they are lovely!
ReplyDeleteHi Marie, it is like white flora. I don't know what the Swedish equivalent is. It is a white vegetable fat.
ReplyDeleteLaurie, I know! Biscuits are soooo good. I could eat them any day of the week and with anything too! I hope you do make these!
I forgot to look at this again. There is no such product here and I don't remember having it in Australia either. I'd heard that Americans use something called Crisco but we had no idea what that was. We only had lard, beef dripping or copha.
ReplyDeleteTry the lard Marie, or mix it half and half with butter. I think that might work well! Let me know how you get on! xx
ReplyDeleteVery tender but tasteless. Won't be making these again.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you expect then to taste like? Perhaps your ingredients were not that fresh?
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